The oppositionist deputy may be stripped of deputy immunity

On Monday, the Russian Investigation Committee submitted in the Prosecutor General’s Office and the State Duma the materials over illegal business activities, on the strength of which a criminal case can be opened against a well-known oppositionist and State Duma deputy from A Just Russia Gennady Gudkov. The Investigation Committee hopes that the general prosecutor will pass in the State Duma a request for stripping deputy Gudkov of deputy immunity, and the deputies will support the law enforcement agencies. Gudkov believes that he will be deprived of deputy immunity, as Communist deputy Vladimir Bessonov was stripped of it a month ago.

On Monday, the Investigation Committee submitted the documents to check business activities of deputy Gennady Gudkov in the State Duma and the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily reported. The detectives believe that the deputy violated the Constitution and the law on deputy status. The inquiry in illegal participation of State Duma deputy Gennady Gudkov in business activities continues, spokesman for the Investigation Committee Vladimir Markin said. The detectives found that the lawmaker in violation of the law manages a major marketplace in the Moscow regional town Kolomna. Gudkov does not deny that he is the co-owner of the building material marketplace Kolomna Builder, but claims that he does not participate in the work of the marketplace.

The law enforcement agencies have taken one more step to turn oppositionist Gennady Gudkov in a person under investigation, the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily reported. For his part, Gudkov rejects the accusations against him and stated that he will not escape justice abroad. “I have not been engaged and is not engaged in commercial activities not only abroad, but also in Russia for the last 11 years, because I was elected in the State Duma in 2001,” he said before. He claimed that he was not running a business independently, but hired special managers, who managed his business.

The deputy finds the accusations, which the Investigation Committee brought against him, as “a part of political order.” “I will go to the very end,” the deputy said in reply to a question whether he is ready to be imprisoned, if the events will be developing on a negative scenario for him, or he will flee abroad.

The newspaper recalled that Gudkov’s business underwent numerous inquiries of the law enforcement agencies. Several inquiries passed at private security agencies, which belong to the family of the deputy. Gudkov linked the inquiries with his opposition activities and stated about his intentions to sell his security guard business.

If the general prosecutor finds the reasons of the Investigation Committee grounded and submits a request in the State Duma by September, the deputies, according to the State Duma regulations, are to decide on Gennady Gudkov’s deputy immunity in the first workweek, the Kommersant daily noted.

Gudkov believe that he will be stripped of deputy immunity. For this decision just a simple majority of votes in the State Duma that is at least 226 out of 450 votes of deputies will be enough. The United Russia faction has 238 deputy mandates, and United Russia already confirmed that they will vote for stripping the deputy of immunity. The LDPR faction is also ready to support the ruling party. This means that in September the State Duma will begin its second session with the issue, which ended the first session in July. A month ago Communist deputy Vladimir Bessonov from Rostov-on-Don was stripped of deputy immunity, as the Investigation Committee suspects the latter of “using violence against a law enforcer” during the December rally.

Gennady Gudkov said in an interview with the Izvestia daily that the actions of the Investigation Committee “are a response of the authorities to the public protest and forming the protesting organizing committee on the Bolotnaya Square.” The presidential administration has developed a plan for the struggle against the opposition, the deputy claimed. “I am aware that several meetings were held to decide what procedural actions to take against concrete oppositionists. The Kirovles terminated criminal case was resumed against Navalny, but I saw personally a document, in which the prosecutor’s office gave apologizes to him and stated that he has the right for rehabilitation. The plan of the struggle against the Gudkov family was targeted against me. The first stage is the destruction of business and the second stage is my ousting from the State Duma and the third stage is a blow on my son Dmitry (he is also a State Duma deputy),” Gudkov underlined.